Abraham John Flint DL (27 March 1903 – 23 January 1971) was a British barrister. He briefly enjoyed a political career, being elected to the House of Commons by the narrowest majority under universal franchise and serving for a single term as a supporter of National Labour. His contributions to Parliament were not substantial but his subsequent legal career flourished and he was a later made a judge.

Family and early life

Flint was the son of Abraham Reginald Flint, who was a solicitor in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

,"A Who's Who of British MPs" ed. by Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, vol. III, Harvester Press, 1979, p. 117-8. and spent 40 years on Derby City Council. Flint was educated at Oundle School. In 1921, Flint went abroad and spent four years farming in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

."The Times House of Commons 1931", p. 69. On his return, he studied law, and was called to the Bar in 1929 from the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

. The next year, Flint married Eleanor Mary Jones, who was from Loughborough; they had two daughters together."FLINT, His Honour Judge Flint Abraham John" in "Who Was Who 1971–1980", A & C Black.

1931 general election

Up until the political crisis of 1931, Flint had been a member of the Labour Party, but he followed

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

and supported the creation of the National Government. When a

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

was called, Flint was pressed to stand in the Ilkeston division where Labour had a majority of 12,436 at the previous election. Flint's father was a local supporter of

J. H. Thomas James Henry Thomas (3 October 1874 – 21 January 1949), sometimes known as Jimmy Thomas or Jim Thomas, was a Welsh trade unionist and Labour (later National Labour) politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks. ...

, one of the cabinet members who had followed MacDonald and a longstanding MP in Derby. Thomas persuaded Flint, who was not interested in a Parliamentary career, to stand in Ilkeston to relieve the electoral pressure in Derby. According to Thomas' biographer Gregory Blaxland, Thomas assured Flint that there was no chance of his winning, and Thomas arranged to speak for Flint. The bitterness of the split in Labour showed as Thomas was met with cries of "Judas!". Flint had indeed been chosen to stand without any expectation of victory;

Frank Markham Sir Sydney Frank Markham (19 October 1897 – 13 October 1975) was a British politician who represented three constituencies, each on behalf of a different party, in Parliament. Born in Stony Stratford, he left school at the age of fourteen. ...

wrote to MacDonald's secretary H.B. Usher on 13 October 1931 explaining that it was important to keep the sitting Labour MP in the constituency and stop him "speaking in other places where he would do much harm". Had he not stood, a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate would have been found to stand. After the polls closed it became clear that the Ilkeston election was very close. There were four recounts overnight, and the Returning Officer decided to call a halt in the early hours to return later in the day. At the end of the fifth recount, the Returning Officer declared Flint elected by a majority of two votes over the sitting Labour MP. This result remains the joint smallest majority in any individual constituency election since universal suffrage.

Parliamentary contributions

In the new Parliament, Flint was chosen to make his maiden speech by seconding the 'Loyal Address' at the opening of the first session in 1931. He opened by pointing to the narrowness of his election, saying that any two of his voters could claim responsibility for electing him, and went on to support the economic conference and the interdependence of the Empire. However, Flint was not an active member after this early start. In February 1933 he joined a delegation of National Labour MPs to the Minister of Health concerning the Government's Housing and Rent Restriction Bills. In April 1934 Flint made a speech in support of the Road Traffic Bill, calling for cyclists to carry compulsory lamps.

Later life

Flint announced in July 1935 that he would not defend his seat at the next election, apparently because he stood no chance of winning. He continued his practice at the Bar, and in January 1952 represented the Conservative candidate for Lichfield and Tamworth in an action complaining of assault by a Labour Agent; Flint won damages for his client. In November 1957 Flint was elevated to the Judicial Bench as a Judge of Circuit No 18 (Nottingham). During the Second World War, Flint served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and rose to the rank of Major. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire in August 1970.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flint, Abraham 1903 births 1971 deaths English barristers 20th-century English judges Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies National Labour (UK) politicians People educated at Oundle School UK MPs 1931–1935 Members of the Inner Temple British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers